Carpe Diem
by AudiophileChica
Summary: My attempt at a Word of the Day for everyone's favorite spy and her techno-hottie! I will attempt to post 1 per day, but unfortunately, I make no guarantees. Rated T for possible future storylines. Enjoy! :
1. 81411  Gumption

Okay, here is my attempt at a Word of the Day. I would have actually had this posted on the actual day of the word, but technical difficulties slowed me down a little. :) Anyway, reviews are always welcome, both good and bad, but please be nice, at least! LoL!

On an unfortunately serious note, I do not own Covert Affairs, the characters, or the actors... yada yada yada... ;)

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**Gumption**

\GUMP-shun\ : enterprise, initiative

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Auggie, as a general rule, was a nice guy, pretty funny, and not too bad to work for. But every now and then, something that may seem trivial to most would seem to set him off. From past experience, people who had known Auggie for a while could usually judge what would or would not cause a meltdown.

"I'm not telling him."

"Well, I'm not telling him, either!" Stu looked at the lower-level tech like he was crazy. "I value my job, not to mention my life!"

The techs looked up just as Joan walked through the doorway at the end of the platform.

Stu grinned. _Perfect! _"Hey, Joan, have you seen Auggie yet this morning?"

Joan never broke stride as she answered. "Yes I have, and no, I won't tell him." She smiled knowingly as she sailed past.

"Maybe Jai would do it."

Stu shook his head. "No, definitely not a smart idea."

"Hey, guys. What's up?" Annie stepped up behind the techies, startling them a bit.

"Ah, fantastic! Annie, dear, sweet Annie!" Stu was grinning from ear to ear as he turned to face his newest target.

"Uh oh, whatever it is, the answer is no!"

The younger tech finally spoke up as Annie began to turn away. "But it's about Auggie."

Annie stopped and considered. "Okay, spill."

Stu stepped up to the plate again. "Well, apparently Auggie is unaware that he's wearing two different socks today. Rather noticeably, actually. One black, one red. He has a meeting today up on the 7th and none of us have the, uh, guts to say anything.

Annie paused, waiting for more details. When none came, she said, "That's it? That's the big crisis? You guys are being ridiculous. I'll go tell him. I have to go in anyway. No worries, guys. You act like he's gonna go all Mr. Hyde." Annie giggled as she headed toward the tech ops office.

Stu watched he walk away, shaking his head. "I don't know if I want to be in a fallout shelter or have a front row seat."

Annie entered Auggie's office and headed straight to the corner of his desk.

"Annie, what's the what?" Auggie leaned back slightly in his chair and gazed in her general direction.

"The guys are acting really strange. They're actually scared to come tell you that you're wearing two different socks."

"Two different socks?" He cringed. "How noticeable is it?"

"One black, one red, so pretty noticeable."

Auggie frowned for a bit, then smiled slightly. "Well, Miss Walker, it looks like we're going shopping at lunch.

"Oh really?"

Yes, ma'am. It's my turn to buy lunch, but you owe me a pair of socks." Auggie's smirk was growing with each word.

"And how do you figure I owe you a pair of socks?" Annie leaned towards Auggie suggestively.

Auggie leaned in, as well. "Because it was your idea to use a sock to blindfold the blind guy!

Stu and the small crowd that had gathered outside Auggie's office stared through the window, waiting for the blow up. When it never came, the same humerous thought went through each of their minds.

_He is soooo whipped..._

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And there you have it, folks! Hit that nice little button below and let me know what you think!

~Jen


	2. 81511 Apocryphal

Here is what is technically yesterday's word… like I said, technical difficulties. LoL! Anyway, I thrive on reviews, people!

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**Apocryphal**

\uh-PAH-kruh-ful\: of doubtful authenticity

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In the field, Annie could spin a story like nobody's business and make it seem like a well-known fact.

After learning everything she had about Auggie, she was convinced that he was the master of tale-telling, especially back in his field-agent days.

Drinks after work at the tavern were the perfect setting for some of Auggie's more interesting stories.

"You CANNOT be serious!"

"No lie, I swear!" Auggie laughed, setting his beer back on the table. "She actually said that even though I was blind, or maybe even because of it, she felt like I could see directly into her soul."

Annie almost started choking on her beer all over again.

Auggie's stories tonight all seemed to revolve around how being blind had ended up making him even more appealing to beautiful women. Although, with his charm, Annie was pretty sure he didn't have any trouble in that area before his accident.

"And after that enlightening statement from her?"

"Annie, do you really want it to turn into THAT kind of story?" Auggie asked with a wink.

Annie blushed slightly and sat back in her chair, taking her beer with her. "Right, cause that wouldn't be awkward or anything," she said with a laugh.

Auggie smirked. "I can actually hear you blushing, Walker."

Just then, two very attractive women passed the table, watching the blind tech the whole way. 

"Hey, Auggie."

"Hi, Auggie."

"Ladies." Auggie tipped his head towards their voices with a smile as they passed.

Annie stared at her best friend in awe for a few moments before finally speaking up. "So both of those girls obviously knew you, and apparently they know each other, so…" she drifted off.

Auggie leaned forward and grinned. "Now that is an interesting story."

"Stop right there, Mister!" Annie held her hand up as if he could actually see it. It was so easy to forget that he was, in fact, completely blind. "I don't think my fragile mind can handle THAT story."

"Wuss…" He relaxed back into his seat.

"Wait a minute. All they said was hello. How do you even know who they were?"

Auggie leaned in and crooked his finger for her to do the same. "It's how they said my name," he said with another wink. "Not something easily forgotten."

"And that is the point where I ask you to please spare me the details," she stage-whispered back.

Sitting up, Auggie replied, "I repeat my previous assessment: wuss."

Annie grinned. "Damn right." She considered her best friend for a moment. "You know, Aug, if you ever decided to write your memoirs, I honestly don't think anyone would believe half of them."

Auggie laughed lightly and lifted his beer towards her. "It's not my fault I lead such an interesting life."

"If that's what you want to call it." Annie grinned and clinked her beer bottle with Auggie's.

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Alright, there's word #2! Remember, reviews are a wonderful vice!


	3. 81611 Defenestration

Here is #3! It's technically yesterday's word, but today's will hopefully be up tonight. Enjoy!

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**Defenestration**

\dee-fen-uh-STRAY-shun\: a throwing of a person or thing out of a window

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"Okay, I realize this road trip may be work related, but it is still a road trip. Road trips are supposed to at least be a LITTLE fun. What's up with you, Aug? You've barely said ten words since we left." Annie glanced to the passenger side of her Volkswagen.

Auggie sat quietly for a few moments, his sightless eyes aimed out the passenger window. "Tash. Today's her birthday."

Annie closed her eyes briefly, sympathizing with the man sitting stoically next to her. "Auggie, I'm so sorry. I know how much Tash means to you."

"Meant."

"What?" Annie was obviously confused.

Auggie turned slightly to direct his attention to Annie as he explained. "It took a while, but I like to think I've pretty well moved on from those 'hard to breathe without her' feelings. I just tend to think a little more about the what-if's on days like this."

"Tell me about it." Annie laughed lightly. "Ben seems to invade my thoughts less and less, but there are still those rogue days that sneak up and try to ruin all of that emotional progress."

Auggie turned his head a little more towards Annie, apparently amused by her choice of words. "Emotional progress? Is that what you're calling the bracelet rattling around in your pocket these days?"

"That- well- it's-"

"Yeah, your excuse creating wheels aren't turning quite fast enough there, Walker." Auggie's smirk was back.

"Well, you're one to talk, you know!"

Auggie blinked a couple of times before responding. "What are you talking about?"

Annie chuckled. "You know, for such a great liar professionally, you're a horrible liar when it comes to your personal life."

"I honestly don't know what you're referring to!" There was a slight chuckle behind the statement.

"So that flash drive you have with you constantly isn't the one you got from Natasha after the hack?" Since a pointed gaze was basically moot, she simply watched his face to gauge his reaction.

He didn't disappoint. Before he even responded, his ears and cheeks began to blush slightly. "How did you even know about that?"

"I didn't really notice at first, but after a while, a couple of little things gave you away."

Auggie waited for her to elaborate, but when she didn't, he decided to prompt her. "Are you going to enlighten me, dear?"

Annie playfully scoffed. "And lose the advantage of knowing your tells? Are you nuts?"

"Annie, _sugarplum,_ you'll never know all of my secrets, so there's really no point in even trying. Now tell me before I have to get... persuasive." He leaned in and winked, knowing she would see it.

"I'm not sure if I should be enthralled or frightened by that prospect. But either way, I guess I'll tell you. First of all, you use those flash drives all the time, and they all look different. That particular drive is the only one I've seen multiple times. But the second part of that is what really gives it away. As many times as I've seen you with that flash drive in your hand, I've never seen you use it. I've never even seen it plugged into a computer. I've only ever seen it in your hand while you're sitting in your office thinking, and as soon as anyone walks in, you put it in your pocket."

Auggie processed her statement for a moment. "Wow. In all honesty, I didn't even realize I was doing that."

Annie had a sudden thought. Inspiration had struck. "Auggie, give me the flash drive."

"What makes you think I have it with me right now?"

"Auggie, don't make me go fishing for it. Just give me the flash drive and trust me, okay?" Annie held out her right palm and waited for Auggie to comply. Once she had the small drive in her hand, she reached into her own pocket and grabbed the ever-present shell bracelet.

Before Auggie could even open his mouth to question what she was doing, Annie rolled down the driver window. With wind from the highway whipping through the car, Annie tossed both the drive and the bracelet, then calmly rolled the window back up, leaving the car almost silent again.

Auggie sat for a moment, wondering if he had in fact heard what he thought he heard. "Annie, did you just toss those out the window?"

Annie stared straight ahead. "Aug, it's for our own good. We're never going to be able to move on completely if we're still using those as crutches."

Auggie readjusted in his seat. "If you say so."

A couple of hours later, they had arrived at their destination and were unloading the car. Auggie was lifting Annie's toiletry bag up from the floorboard behind the driver's seat when he heard something fall out and hit the backseat. Setting the bag down on the ground, he felt around the seat for the loose item. When his hand felt the smooth curves of the shell bracelet, he couldn't help but smile. He ran his hand over the floorboard, already knowing what he would find. As soon as he had the flash drive in his hand, he pocketed it along with the bracelet, grabbed the bag on the ground and met Annie at the back of the car to head into the hotel.

Annie exited the room's bathroom and headed towards her bed. She stopped short when she noticed the shell bracelet lying innocently on her pillow. Auggie, however, was nowhere to be found.

Annie picked up the bracelet and smiled. "Baby steps, I guess."

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There you have it! Like I said, hopefully today's word will be up tonight, but I can make no promises. Anyway, as always, reviews are always greatly, greatly appreciated and tend to motivate me to no end... hint, hint... LoL!  
>~Jen<p> 


	4. 81711 Toplofty

Okay, I did it! I'm actually caught up with my posting! Today's word posted TODAY! Aren't you proud?

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**Toplofty**

\TAHP-lawf-tee\: very superior in air or attitude

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Under normal circumstances, when Annie would hear Auggie's voice in her ear on a mission, it always made her feel just a little bit better.

Unfortunately, this was not one of those instances.

"Annie, come on, it's almost over. Just a little while longer and then you can hand her off. She'll no longer be your headache. And honestly, it can't really be as bad as you're making it sound, can it?"

Annie's reply was fairly terse, bordering on curt. "If Joan had told me she was going to be this bad, I would have said no way in hell!"

"Yeah, I'm sure that would've worked really well for you, Walker." Auggie laughed.

"I'm not kidding. You people better be glad I'm not carrying a gun."

"Annie, I hate to break it to you, but trouble seems to be determined to follow you everywhere you go. Something tells me giving you a gun to carry would just make it worse."

"Very funny, Anderson. Next time we get an assignment to handle Paris Hilton and Hitler's love child, it's on you, buddy."

Auggie chuckled. "Where is Barbie, anyway?"

"Showering. Although the shower's probably clogging with all that slime on her. She just oozes superiority and haughtiness."

"Haughtiness? Is that even a word?"

"I can hear you smirking, Auggie." Annie was determined she was going to stay mad and indignant with Auggie, but he was knocking those walls down quickly just by being Auggie.

"I thought that was my trick," he said with a laugh.

"Hey, why are we handling this assignment, anyway?"

Auggie stretched in his office chair. "Favor to another alphabet agency. Joan didn't give me details. Why? You wanna know who to thank for your travelling companion?"

"Auggie, let me just give you an example of my pain right now. When she went into the bathroom to take her shower, she threw her dirty clothes out the bathroom door and told me to throw them away. When I asked her what was wrong with them, she said she had worn them all day, so she wouldn't be wearing them again." Annie scoffed. "I mean, really, Auggie." She was beginning to get worked up again.

"Breathe, Annie, breathe. Just think happy thoughts. She'll be gone and you'll be home in no time."

Annie perked up slightly. "Happy thoughts like… maybe a tornado will sweep through and drop a house on her?" She sounded genuinely hopeful.

"Probably not, Dorothy, but personally, I would've used the flying monkeys."

That did it. Auggie finally got the laugh he'd been digging for.

Through Annie's phone, Auggie heard what he assumed was the bathroom door open in the background.

Annie's laughter faded somewhat depressingly. "Gotta go, Aug, the wicked witch is back."

"Alright, I'll see you when you're done babysitting."

"Funny." Annie began to pull the phone away from her ear, but not before Auggie heard her muttering, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home."

This time, he probably should have wished her luck. Sounded like she needed it for this one.

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Alright people: review, review, review! And thanks a bunch for the ones I've already gotten!


	5. 81811 Diurnal

And here you have it! Today's word, on time and everything! Enjoy!

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**Diurnal**

\dahy-UR-nl\: of or pertaining to each day

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Being a covert operative for the CIA didn't really allow for a lot of predictability in Annie's life. There were really only three sure-fire predictable things in her life at the moment: her cat, Thursday night dinners at her sister's, and Auggie.

Her cat was always waiting for her when she came home, no matter how long she had been gone. It might seem stupid to some, but since her family didn't know her CIA life existed, her cat had become her sounding board at home. On the plus side, she never judged and she couldn't rat her out.

Thursday night dinners were usually exasperating due to her sister's attempts at matchmaking, but it was family. Family she constantly had to lie to, not only for her safety, but for theirs, too. But the dinners were real and the closest thing to normal that Annie could imagine.

Then there was Auggie. As clichéd as it sounded, he was her constant in a world full of chaos. Always on her arm walking through the DPD, always in her ear on missions, and always her drinking buddy at the tavern. Even with him being blind, somehow they could still share looks during briefings. Without seeing her, he could tell when she needed to be cheered up. All the little things that most people took advantage of in their normal everyday friendships and relationships. Annie relied on these things to keep her grounded and connected to her true self. The self that she seemed to only be able to be around him.

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Being blind, Auggie lived by routine. A place for everything and everything in it's place, as they say. Even working for the CIA, most aspects of his life were routine and predictable.

And then one day, Annie Walker stepped into his life.

Somehow, the only predictable thing about Annie was her unpredictability. If protocol dictated one action, it was almost guaranteed that Annie would do the complete opposite. If he thought she seemed to be in a beer mood, she would end up surprising him by ordering tequila. Little things that kept his life interesting. Even though routine and order were necessary under his current circumstances, the last thing Auggie wanted his life to be was boring.

With Annie around, however, Auggie didn't think that was going to be an issue anymore.

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Okay, so I know it's uber-short, but it's just what came out, people! I'd still love to have reviews, though. Never EVER forget how much they inspire me! Thanks a bunch!

~Jen


	6. 81911 Penury

Okay, sorry it took so long to get this posted, but I'm going to be moving over the next couple of weeks. I'll still have a story for every day, but they may not be posted each day. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews so far, they are greatly appreciated!

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**Penury**

\PEN-yuh-ree\: indigence, extreme poverty

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"Auggie, are you sure it's here?"

"I'm positive, Annie. I've been there myself, as a matter of fact." Auggie leaned back in his office chair. "Remind me to share some stories."

Annie smiled at the tech's voice in her ear as she walked down the deserted street. The tiny South American village was just about as far down on the food chain as Annie could imagine. In the light of day, she couldn't even be sure if there was electricity. She had parked the Jeep about a mile outside of town and finished the rest of the trek on foot. She knew the CIA safe house was supposed to be here, but from the looks of the area, she was beginning to have doubts.

"Okay, I'll take your word for it." Annie grinned as she reached the seemingly abandoned building. "I'm here, going in."

"Good deal. Remember, Sanders is meeting you there in an hour."

The only thing directly inside the door was a stairway leading up, so apparently the first floor was only accessible from outside. Annie climbed the steps and headed straight down the hallway to the last door on the right. The air inside the building was stale and warm, but fortunately not unbearable.

The door was locked, as expected. Annie pulled the key from her pocket and it slipped into the lock easily. Opening the door slowly, Annie was on alert for anything. The room was simple and bare, with just a table, 2 chairs, a double bed, night stand, and lamp. A tiny bathroom was positioned right inside the room, and there was one small window. On the plus side, the window did hold an a/c unit. Whether it worked or not was the question.

Verifying that the room was clear, Annie walked to the window and glanced through the yellowing sheers. "I'm in, Aug. Room's clear. Now I guess it's time to hurry up and wait, right?"

Chuckling, Auggie responded. "Just be glad it's 'hurry up and wait' and not 'hurry up and avoid the booby trap'."

Annie stepped back from the window and headed to the bed. "You can say that again. So, until Sanders gets here, I guess you'll just have to keep me entertained, Anderson."

The tech grinned to himself as he replied. "Well, I could tell you about my date last night."

"And I think I'll pass on that one." Annie laughed. "Hey, Aug, let me ask you something."

"Ask away, Miss Walker."

"How did the Agency end up with a safe house here? I mean, I didn't see a single person getting here."

"Trust me, they saw you." Auggie paused to take a drink. "About six years ago, the Agency made a deal with the locals. They let us keep a single room there and never speak of it to anyone. In return, they never go hungry and never lose their town."

Annie glanced around the room, remembering the desolation she felt while walking to the safe house. "Not much of a town to keep, though."

"There's one thing you have to understand about that area. The larger and more up to date the town becomes, the bigger target it is for takeovers. Cartels and other criminals begin to pay attention and start thinking it would be a good area to call their own. Believe me, the smaller and more poverty-stricken it seems, the better."

"So, they're really not as bad off as it seems, then? Cause it seems pretty bad." Annie grinned slightly. In all honesty, it did make sense in a convoluted sort of way.

Auggie relaxed back into his chair again. "Trust me, they're okay, you bleeding heart," he added with a light chuckle.

"Ha ha, Anderson. I'm just glad I'm only here for an intel pass. I'll be very happy to get back to my idea of civilization."

"Aww, come on, you don't want to honeymoon there? The room would be free."

Annie couldn't hold the smile back. "And that would be the cue to end our conversation. I'm gonna get cleaned up a little before Sanders gets here. I'll talk to you when I get back to the Jeep."

"You got it. Oh, by the way, if you take a left out the front door, second alley on the left, first door on the right, they make a killer latte."

"Goodbye, Auggie." Annie laughed. Although, an iced latte didn't sound too bad right about now.

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And there you have it! One more in the bag. Don't forget to review, people!

~Jen


	7. 82011 Kerfuffle

Okay, so I know this is actually the word for 8/20/11, but due to the whole moving thing, along with a couple other family issues that popped up recently, it's a little late. I'll still be writing a story for each day, but as I said before, they will not always be posted on the actual day, at least not for a while. Anyway, on with the next installment! Enjoy!

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**Kerfuffle**

\ker-FUFF-ul\: disturbance, fuss

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_Knock knock_

Joan looked up from her desk to see Annie's head poking around her half-opened door. "Annie, come on in. Unless you're giving me bad news. In that case, I'm not here."

Annie grinned as she entered Joan's office, closing the door behind her. "Actually, I do have to talk to you about something very important, but no bad news."

Joan gestured to a chair and Annie took a seat. The DPD director closed the file she had been reading and clasped her hands together on her desk. "So, what is this important issue?"

"Well, the thing is, it's not completely work related."

"Noted, go on."

"Auggie's birthday is next Friday."

Joan nodded. "I'm aware of that, but what does that have to do with me?"

Annie rested her hands in her lap. "Well, I'd like to throw him a party and I wanted to get your input in addition to permission to make it an office party." Annie smiled hopefully.

Joan leaned back in her chair. "You want to throw Auggie a birthday party? Here?"

Annie hesitated slightly. "Well, yeah. I mean, we've had office birthday parties before."

"But not for Auggie," Joan replied gently.

Annie blinked a couple of times. "I don't understand."

"Neither does anyone else, really. We had a party for him the first year after his accident. People who didn't know him very well just thought maybe he was shy about the attention because he was so quiet, but we could tell it was deeper. About half an hour in, he just got up and left. Called his car service and went home."

Annie was shocked. "He just up and left without a word?"

Joan nodded quietly.

"What happened when he came back?"

"Well, the party was on a Friday, so we didn't see him again until Monday. When he came in, he was back to normal. He didn't mention the party and neither did anyone else. Figured it was a safer bet than asking him about it, even me." Joan grinned a little. "After that, we just didn't bring it up again."

Annie sat quietly for a moment before finally standing to leave. "Okay, thank you, Joan. I appreciate you filling me in."

"Annie?"

She paused halfway to the door. "Yeah?"

"You're going to go talk to him now, aren't you?" Joan asked with a hint of a smile.

"Of course! What kind of best friend would I be if I let this go now?" Annie winked at Joan and strode out of the office, a woman on a mission.

Joan shook her head after Annie's departure. "Good luck, Auggie."

OOOOO

Annie made her way to Auggie's office and stepped in without bothering to knock. Auggie looked up in her direction as she rested her hip on her usual corner of his desk.

"Annie, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Auggie leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands.

"Okay, I'm just going to come out with it. I know everyone threw you a birthday party the first year after your accident, and for some reason, it didn't go well. I also know you have not had once since. Now, whatever the reason was, I'm here if you want to talk about it, but it's up to you. I just came to tell you that your birthday is next week and I am throwing you a birthday party next Friday. If there is a problem with that, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Auggie only had enough time to gulp before she was up and walking back out of his office.

"Good. Bring a smile and act surprised," she tossed over her shoulder.

It was almost a full ten minutes before Auggie finally focused his attention back on his work.

OOOOO

Walking by his office later that afternoon, Joan couldn't help but notice that Auggie's smile was a lot less forced and a lot more genuine these days. Now, if Annie could just have trouble-free assignments between now and next weekend….

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Okay, like I said, I'm still working on the others, but hopefully they'll be up soon! Remember, please keep reviewing! They're a wonderful inspiration!

~Jen


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